Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

स्वयं समुद्रतीर्णाय सेतुबंधनकारिणे

Transliteration

svayaṃ samudratīrṇāya setubaṃdhanakāriṇe

Translation

Hommage à celui qui, de lui-même, traversa l’océan et fit accomplir l’édification du pont (setu).

Word by Word

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• समुद्रतीर्णाय: to the one who crossed the ocean
• समुद्रतीर्णाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + तॄ (धातु) → तीर्ण (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—द्वितीया-तत्पुरुष (समुद्रं तीर्णः) + क्त (past participle)

• सेतुबंधनकारिणे: to the maker of the bridge-building
• सेतुबंधनकारिणे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेतु (प्रातिपदिक) + बन्धन (प्रातिपदिक) + कारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—(सेतोः बन्धनं करोति इति) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष + उपपद-तत्पुरुष (कारिन्)

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas (continuing the salutations; verse appears as a pāda/fragment)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setubandha / Rāma-setu (associated with Rāmeśvara kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Hanumān leaps over the roaring ocean; in a companion scene, the vānaras build the bridge with floating stones inscribed with Rāma’s name, under Hanumān’s guidance.

Characters & Entities

• Hanumān
• Ocean (samudra)
• Setu (bridge)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faithful service makes the impossible possible—devotion manifests as decisive action for a righteous cause.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse alludes to Setu (Rāma-setu) thematically, but does not explicitly present a tīrtha-māhātmya in this fragment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is praise of heroic, dharmic action.